The Local: Sep. 6, 2024 news roundup
Welcome back to The Local, a publication of NYC-DSA Labor Working Group reporting every two weeks. As always, send any tips, corrections, and other feedback to thenyclocal@substack.com. Apologies for the late post! In this issue, we have a quiet week for new organizing petitions at the NLRB, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance escalate their fight against arbitrary lockouts for drivers by Uber and Lyft, and the NLRB certifies (again) ALU’s April 2022 election victory at Amazon’s JFK8 warehouse.
Photo Credit: Alex Patterson
Organizing
A third unit of workers at the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane dance company have voted to unionize (8-0) with the independent Live Arts Workers union.
A unit of drivers and warehouse workers at Sharps Compliance Medical Waste Disposal in Brooklyn is organizing with the Consolidated Commercial Workers of America, Local 528.
Congratulations to the Amazon Labor Union (IBT Local 1) which has – again – won at the NLRB in beating back Amazon’s legal challenges to its historic April 2022 election victory at the JFK8 warehouse on Staten Island.
Bargaining & Action
8/21: Workers at the Noguchi Museum walked out of work in protest of a dress code that would ban keffiyehs, which they say was an distinctly “anti-Palestinian” decision.
8/24: NYC-DSA helped support Starbucks workers at the Reserve Roastery that are still continuing to fight for their first contract.
8/31: Tabletop Workers United walk out at Hex & Co locations around the city.
9/3: Workers at Law360 walked out of the job during their ongoing contract fight and have threatened an indefinite unfair labor practice strike.
9/3: AFM Local 802 announced a contract win for the off-broadway production of “That Parenting Musical.”
9/4: The AFM hosted a contract rally kickoff for their live TV and Video work.
9/4: The New York Taxi Workers Alliance held a rally against Lyft and Uber demanding to stop locking drivers out of the app and for a pay raise. [Documented]
9/4: The Financial Times US Guild, two years after its formation, has reached a tentative agreement with management, which will now go to a member ratification vote.
9/6: United Probation Officers Association approved its latest contract with the city by a 430-97 vote, though there was vocal opposition from older members on the deal’s quality.
10/1: The American Postal Workers Union plans to hold contract rallies in Midtown and East New York.
Albany
The Public Employee Relations Board reaffirmed the ability for temporary farmer workers to unionize; a major win for the United Farm Workers (UFW) who began organizing upstate farms after the passage of the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act that expanded the employee definition to include these workers. Farmworkers are among the private sector workers explicitly left out by the National Labor Relations Act, leaving it to the states to grant them labor organizing rights. [The Chief Leader]
City Hall
Comptroller Brad Lander releases a public and searchable database for the city’s worst employers based on violations cited by the NLRB, OSHA, and others. Notable worst offenders include Uber, Chipotle, Amazon, and various home health agencies.
Miscellaneous
The CUNY School of Labor and Urban annual State of the Unions report showed an uptick in successful union elections, even though the overall unionization rate in the city and state remained mostly unchanged. A reflection on the rise in union elections is often in relatively small shops even if the number is increasing. [The City]
New Yorkers, particularly in the Bronx, are experiencing a rise in credit card debt due to the expiration of pandemic era benefit programs and the years-long spike in inflation. [The City]
The fashion industry in NYC takes a big hit as industry jobs decline by about a third over the past decade, from 182,000 in 2014 to 129,000 today. [The City]
Numerous data sources are beginning to show that office and city foot traffic is returning to pre-pandemic levels, despite years of concern that it may not ever return back to those levels. This is a welcome sign for the city’s real estate sector but also many small businesses that rely on office workers and tourist dollars. [Gothamist]
A profile of the internal dynamics at the Amazon Labor Union in the leadup to its leadership change. [Documented]
The New York-based environmental NGO Audubon Society joins the ranks of SpaceX and Amazon in challenging the constitutional authority of the NLRB after it got caught committing unfair labor practices. Ironically, it appears that the Audubon Society relies on a recent right-wing Supreme Court decision for this constitutional challenge – the same decision that it criticized elsewhere for its potential harmful effects on environmental regulation.
Meanwhile, more good news for Teamsters organizing at Amazon, as the NLRB agrees that Amazon is a joint employer of its delivery drivers, who are technically employed by third-party “delivery service providers” (DSPs). Amazon has historically used the DSPs as a legal shield to disclaim any responsibility for the working conditions of its drivers.
Job Listings
Political Coordinator - SEIU Committee of Interns and Residents (Salary: $97,056 – $113,149)
Development Director - NY Renews (Salary: $80,000 - $105,000)
Organizer - SEIU 32BJ (Salary: $62,400 - $77,088)
A complete list of local union jobs can be found at unionjobs.com, alongside here is the complete list of New York City’s civil service exams. Additionally if you’re interested in taking a job in a strategic industry and want to be connected through the Labor Working Group, check out this form here.